Fee guideline vital for architects: Institute

SINGAPORE - Last Wednesday's article ("Doctor's charges: How high is too high?") quoted architects as saying they do not have ethical limits on fees.

The industry had a fee scale developed by the Singapore Institute of Architects (primarily for private sector projects) in 1985.

Through the years, the industry evolved further to also having a separate/parallel public sector inter-agency fee scale, developed by the Ministry of Finance and the Building Control Division of the Public Works Department, for public sector projects undertaken by external consultants.

Both were widely implemented until 2004, when the enacted Competition Act required the industry (both private and public sectors) to abolish all fee scales and guidelines.

The Singapore Institute of Architects underscored the importance of having at least a fee benchmark, in the public interest, to determine an acceptable range that architects could charge for work done.